Frame house

“ The doorway in Illustration 401 is from the back parlor of the house. The door is mahogany, and the carved woodwork of the frame is in a severely classical design. The anthemion figures upon the pilasters and in the capital, and the design of the frieze is beautiful in its severity. The house was built in 1818.
In his “Complete Body of Architecture” Isaac Ware says of the chimney-piece: “No common room, plain or elegant, could be constituted without it. No article in a well-finished room is so essential. ”

“ The basic folk house plan types used were the one room, two room, shotgun and later the bungalow. Houses were usually constructed of wood frame with vertical board and batten siding or horizontal milled siding.
A feature which the basic one room and two room plan dwellings had in common was the integral front gallery. The gallery roof framing was part of the roof structure of the core of the dwelling. One might notice in figure 22 that although two gallery columns are absent, the roof is still standing. ”

“ When the occupant or first settler of this new land finds himself in comfortable circumstances, he builds what is styled a frame house, composed of timber, held together by tenons, mortises and pins, and boarded, shingled and clapboarded on the outside, and often painted white, sometimes red. ”

“ No, the only buildings we have now are merely four-room frame buildings for the men on the place, and we have fixed up one of them for our home until we build a larger and better house down near the spring. ”

“ A wooden shelf raised a few feet from the floor is the sleeping-place, and the bedding consists of sheep-skins, the condition of which, long used and seldom if ever washed, may be imagined. A painted frame-house is hardly to be seen outside of [Pg 287] the large towns; no peasant would aspire to such a luxury. ”

“ A house of the highest order is simply a frame-work,—a roof supported on eight or more posts according to the size of the building; and this with a foundation represents the only fixed structure. In summer it presents a skeleton-like appearance ”

“ The house, of brick and frame construction, is spacious and has rooms on first and second floors as well as in the basement. The first floor includes living room, dining room, family room, kitchen, conservatory, three bedrooms and bath. There are fireplaces in the living room and family room. On the second floor are three bedrooms and bath and large walk-in linen closet. The basement has a drive-in garage and five rooms including a large recreation room. There is also a screened-in front porch. ”

“ In our houses these are solid and permanent, and, when the frame is built, the partitions form part of the framework. In the Japanese house, on the contrary, there are two or more sides that have no permanent walls. Within, also, there are but few partitions which have similar stability; in their stead arc slight sliding-screens, which run in appropriate grooves in the floor and overhead. These grooves mark the limit of each room. The screens may be opened by sliding them back, or they may be entirely removed, thus throwing a number of rooms into one great apartment. ”

“ Set the studs in front of roosting pens to take the window frames (or the window sash, if no frames are used) , and in partitions a stud should be set to take the two and one half feet wide doors and gates. All of the framing is simple and easy, and any man who can saw off a board or joist reasonably square and drive nails straight can build this house; the slight bevel at each end of rafters being perfectly simple. All boarding is lengthwise, the boards firmly nailed and good joints made all over. Cover the roof and sides with Paroid, and the house will be wind and waterproof. [Pg 19] ”

“ If it be objected that thus running the chambers above the plates of the roof prevents the insertion of proper ties or beams to hold the roof plates together to prevent their spreading, we answer, that he must be a poor mechanic who cannot, in framing the chamber partitions so connect the opposite plates as to insure 147 them against all such difficulty. A sheltered, comfortable aspect is that which should distinguish every farm house, and the cottage chamber is one of its chiefest characteristics; and this can only be had by running such apartments into the roof, as in our design. ”

“ But as for the old structure of our story, its white-oak frame, and its boards, shingles, and crumbling plaster, and even the huge, clustered chimney in the midst, seemed to constitute only the least and meanest part of its reality. So much of mankind's varied experience had passed there,—so much had been suffered, and something, too, enjoyed,—that the very timbers were oozy, as with the moisture of a heart. It was itself like a great human heart, with a life of its own, and full of rich and sombre reminiscences. ”

“ Other first signs of the Transition are the diagonal or catercornered fireplace, the hipped or "pyramid" roof, the gambrel roof, and the open-well stairs, which mount up the sides of a room—an arrangement which Britons at home complained of as "wasters of space." In short, it may be said that while these features may earmark a building as of the Transition, they are only thus when combined with certain house-forms and floor plans. A diagonal fireplace by itself is no criterion of a building being Transitional. ”

“ There is no second storey, but a platform or verandah runs along the front or even round the whole of the house. The ascent to this verandah, or to the front door in the absence of one, is made by means of a rickety ladder constructed of the indispensable bamboo.
A SIAMESE TEAK-WOOD HOUSE.
The house is divided into at least three rooms, a kitchen, a drawing-room and a bedroom. So powerful is the superstition that even numbers are unlucky, that the number of rooms is always an odd one. The same fancy regulates also the number of windows and doors, and even the rungs of the ladder. ”

“ This was called ‘foreshortening.’ The severity of outline presented by these simple structures was relieved by various devices—sometimes by quoined corner-boards, an ornamental cornice, a balustraded roof, or decorative lintels above the windows; very rarely by rusticated front-boards in imitation of stone blocks. The chief glory of the house as one viewed it from the outside was of necessity the entrance, with its porch, open or enclosed; and it was hither that the loving attention of architect and wood-carver was most assiduously directed. ”

“ The work of construction is no greater, and the material for the door or window costs but little more than the thicker wall of wood, brick, or stone.
I remember an old farm-house on the side of one of our rocky New England hills, a type of a fashion almost extinct, broad and brooding, low in the walls, small windows and far between, high roof, wide gables, pierced by windows of various sizes, and queerly located, as if the huge garret were inhabited by a mixed company of dwarfs and giants, each with his own particular window suited to his height ”

“ The windows were generally spaced carefully and were in harmony with the front door, making an attractive exterior. The walls were of wood, often with a layer of brick to keep out the cold and also to form a better protection. The roofs, more especially in the early houses, were very [Pg 149] steep, since they were planned for thatching; later on, when shingles came into use, they grew lower and wider. It was not until 1700 that the gambrel roof came into style. In considering the evolution of the house we must look backward, and thus we come to realize the progression of architecture. ”

“ A hundred paces from this rustic dwelling stands a charming and ornamental house, communicating with it by a subterranean passage. This contains the kitchen, and other servants' rooms, stables, and coach-houses. Of all this series of brick buildings, the facade alone is seen, graceful in its simplicity, against a background of shrubbery. Another building serves to lodge the gardeners and masks the entrance to the orchards and kitchen-gardens.
The entrance gate to the property is so hidden in the wall dividing the park from the wood as almost to defy detection. ”

“ We will open a central door from the entrance-hall into the drawing-room.
“In front, against the wall of the billiard-room, let us put your brother-in-law’s study, with a small anteroom, where people who have business with him can wait, so as not to be wandering about in the hall. On the dining-room side (of the hall) we will put the pantry. The study must be at least 12 feet 6 inches wide. We will make the entrance-hall jut out a little to form a projection.
“The staircase is a very important point in every house. It should be proportioned to the house,—neither too spacious nor too scanty. ”

“ I told Dinky-Dunk I wanted two new window-frames, beaverboard for inside lining, and two gallons of paint. I have also demanded a lean-to, to serve as an extra bedroom and nursery, and a brand-new bunk-house for the hired “hands” when they happen to come along. I have also insisted on a covered veranda and sleeping porch on the south side of the shack, and fly-screens, and repairs to the chimney to stop the range from smoking. ”

“ George Hunt Ingraham, the remodeling was begun. The old lines of the roof were left unaltered, and although more room was needed, dormers were left out in its reconstruction. Nothing, the new owners felt, could so destroy the lines of the house as to break them with intrusions such as this. The long, unbroken skyline is one of its greatest charms, and even the long slope at one side, reaching down and over the one-story kitchen ell, has been carefully retained and adds not a little to the harmonious effect of the whole structure. ”

“ So far as more room and modern comforts are concerned, an architect or builder knowing his old Nantucket can usually plan to provide them in “doing over” an old house and still not harm its exterior. But all hope is lost if the roof lines are spoiled by large shed-roof dormers or a dormer room, and only less disfiguring are large “sun parlors,” piazzas, exterior chimneys, or flat roofed ells or projections, built where visible from the front. ”

“ The exterior of the houses is very plain. They are built of common stone, brick, or wood, coated with plaster, and so close to the street that if the door opens outward, the owner is compelled to knock before opening it in order to avoid injuring the passer-by in the street. There are no windows on the lower floor at the front of the house. ”

“ And there he saw what the little man of "The Coach and Horses" had described: a long, low stone house of two stories, facing south-west; windows neatly curtained, and fitted—an exotic touch—with persiennes; gravelled walks and smooth grass plots, a tree or two, shrubs and a few garden saplings; a garage big enough for one car which would look bigger than its envelope as it came out; and a pretentious gate—suburban villa half-heartedly aping country house—guarding the drive. ”

“ Paint and paper and rugs have effected an interior transformation that is most attractive. There are no doors in the house, wide openings making it appear as though it were one large room.
The hallway is entered from the Colonial porch and is unique because of its spaciousness. The stairs are at the further end, opposite the door. The Colonial atmosphere has been maintained in the wall hangings, the braided rag mats, and the old furniture. ”

“ The lamp may be fastened to a door or window casing, or perhaps to the sides of a mantel-piece.
A Picture-frame
Fig. 7 shows the design for a picture-frame that is intended to hang against the wall. The frame proper may be made of very narrow picture-frame moulding around which the grille-work is arranged. Where the latter touches [131] the wood-work it is to be made fast with small staples driven in the outer edge, and the ends clinched at the inside, or rabbet, of the frame. Or fine wire may be used in place of the staples.
Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 9. ”

“ A few of these old fireplaces are found to-day, principally in the old kitchens or living-rooms, although occasionally we see an old house which has them in almost every room. There is a great variety in their design as well as size, some being very simple and framed in wood, while others show tiling; occasionally we find elaborate carving, but this is in the better class building rather than in the simple little farmhouse. These details denote the different periods and also the wealth of the former owner. ”

“ Two large, square rooms open on either side of the hallway, and the arrangement of the interior is on the exact lines followed in Southern manor-houses, a wing being introduced on either side of the main building. One of these is used for kitchen and servants' quarters; the opposite wing, connected with the house proper by a covered passageway, is used as a carriage-house and harness-room. This gives the house interesting and unusual proportions. ”

“ This is reached by a cross hall which leads from the main one, and gives access to baths and rear stairs and another tiny bedroom. Although the old fireplace has been remodeled, the aspect of the room is much the same as when the house was built. The woodwork here is all dark, and the hand-hewn rafters and cross beams are exposed in the ceiling. An unusual wall-paper in black and gay colors forms an interesting background for the four-poster and other old furnishings. An old batten door with a quaint little window in the center strip leads from this room to the chambers in the service ell. ”